May 6, 2009

Army drops appeal in Watada case

Seattle Times Staff- May 6, 2009

The Army has decided not to proceed with its appeal of a federal judge's ruling that 1st Lt. Ehren Watada cannot face a second court-martial on three of five counts resulting from his high-profile 2006 refusal to deploy to Iraq with a Fort Lewis brigade, his attorneys said today.Watada's first court-martial, in February 2007, ended with a mistrial.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma ruled on double-jeopardy grounds in October that Watada could not be prosecuted by the Army on charges of missing his redeployment to Iraq, taking part in a news conference and participating in a Veterans for Peace national convention.

But Settle left open the possibility that the Army could retry Watada on two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer resulting from his media interviews.

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